MPs warn that UK is losing the battle against online criminals

British MPs claim that the UK is struggling to win the war on cyber-criminals and more needs to be done to combat the threat of online crime. The Home Affairs Committee has published its first report on e-crime and warned that cyber-crime is too often falling into a “black hole” where it is not reported to the police and banks simply reimburse victims without pursuing those responsible. After a 10-month inquiry led by the cross-party committee it recommended that a state-of-the-art espionage response team should be established. It would provide a point of contact which companies, institutions and media can report an attack to.

The MPs also claimed that more police officers should be trained to detect cyber-crime, more resources made available to combat the problem, and dedicated cyber specialists should be brought in when required. It also called for e-crime experts to be protected from cuts. The Committee was told that the UK was the main online target of criminal gangs operating in 25 countries. It stated it was “deeply concerned” that EU partner countries are not doing enough to prevent cyber-attacks from criminals within their countries on the UK. The committee stated it had been informed that a quarter of the UK’s 800 specialist internet crime officers could be lost due to budget cuts.

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